Potato digger



J. W. SCOTT.

POTATO DIGGER.

FILED JAN 3 1920 Jan. 9, 1923.

4 swans-swan 1.

Jan. 9, 1923. 1,441,949

. J. W. SCOTT.

POTATO BIGGER.

FILED JAN. 3. 1920. 4 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

Ill/VE/VTOR cf Sax "z" ATTORNEYS Jan 9, 1923.. 4,441,949.

1. W. SCOTT.

POTATO BIGGER. HLED JAN. 3. 1920.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 3 ll TTOR/VEVS Jan. 9, 1923.

J. W. SCOTT. POTATO DIGGER.

4 SHEE TSSHEET 4- FILED JAN. 311920.

it intent den. h

w a v t i a i t in i w a d'mfllthd tor n i.

JAMES "W'. 2300;.

'25 he the: e

roraro pic-ens.

Application Med January 3, 1920. Serial No. MBJUYG.

To all w/zmw, it may c()'m;cra.'

lie it known that l, dairies lV. @oo'r'r, a citizen oi the UnitedStates, and a resident oi? Falcon, in the county of ill Paso and Stateof Colorado, haveinvented a .ew and Improved Potato Diggen or which thelollowing is a full, clear, and exact description.

This invention relates to potato diggers and more particularly toiinproveinents on the potato-digging machine as illustrated anddescribed in my Letters Patent lI-lo. 396,438, issued January 22. 1889.

An object oi my invention to provide novel and simplified improvcntientscom-- bined with the above-identified potato digger to produce anetlicient digging ma chine capable of operating at comparatively highspeed and which will do greatly improved work over the old machine.

Among other things, the older potatodigg'ing machine embodied. a plowwhich nirearthed potatoes and threw them back on a vibrating carrier.The plow was non-ad justable, likewise there was no arrangement foradjusting the vibrating; amplitude of the carrier. i

It is fitting, therefore, that the primary object of this invention isto provir e means for regulating the amplitude of motion of thevibrating potato carrier in order to in creasethe working capacity orthe rnachine to the end that it may do more work and better work.

l Vith the above principal object and others in view, the invention hasrelation to the combination and arrangement of parts as set forth in theseveral claims defining my invention, and one particular embodiment catwhich is described in the following specification and illustrated. inthe accornpanying drawings.

Figure 1 shows a side elevation of the potato digger; Figure 2 shows aplan view thereof; and Figure 3 shows a rear elevation of the digging);machine.

Figure 4 illustrates a sectional view taken on the line -f-l:- loi ligure 1'2; and lligurc 5 illustrates a sectional view taken on the line55 oi? Figure 4-1:. 1

Figure 6 illustrates a sectional. view taken on the line 6-45 of Figurel. to illustr to a ratchet-drive mechanism; and Figure '7 illustrates asectional view developed on the line 7-7 of Figure 6.

Figure 8 shows taco view oi. a driving; crank having adjustable meansfor the throw of: the crank; and Figure 9 illustrates a sectional viewtaken on the line 9 -9 of Figure 5.

Figure 10 shows the manner oil? connecting parts employed in theconstructi n1 of the vibrating potato carrier. Figures ll, 12 and 13show perspective views of various forms of stirring means employed forthrowing the dirt and potatoes baclr on the carrier.

A. potato digger constructed in accordance with the plans of myinvention ernploys an appropriate form of hOlS6-(l1b."]l farm toolhaving; traction ground wheels. .lliere is provided a plow carried onpivoted plow beams and. means associated with the pivoted plow beams forregulating the depth oi? the plow. There is also provided a vibrating orshaking potato carrier which receives the dirt and potatoes unearthed bythe plow. and functions to shake the dirt therefrom and drop thepotatoes in the rear oi the machine on top of the ground for theconvenience ot the gatherers, who may then pick the potatoes from. theground and sack them for shipment. A. feature of my invention resides inthe adjustable arrangement for varying the distance oi? swing oramplitude oi? the vibrating carrier. An elevating plate is mounted foraugmenting; the ren'ioval of dirt and potatoes from. the plow, andoperates to throw the potatoes back ,on the vibrating carrier.

in presenting; a more detailed description of my invention, there isemployed a suitable form of carriage upon which the potatodigginp; partsare mounted. The carriage has a :t'rznne 18 made in the shape of a yoke,the closed end of which is mounted. forward, and a tongue 19 is mountedon the frame to draw the machine along; the row.

fin axle 940 is carried on the frame and has the ground traction wheels21 journaled thereon. llwaces are applied to the frame 18 to strengthenit and to maize the rear open end rigid. and to provide a support forparts. as later described.

iiplow beam in is pivoted at 27 on each side oi? the frame 15 and on thelower ends of the plow beams there mounted a plow which passesunderneath the surface oi the ground to unearth potatoes and the like.The plow is rigidly secured to the lower ends of the plow beams and heldin service position. between the beams in line with the row being;plowed. The upper forward end of the pivoted plow beam 26 is providedwith a gear sector s all. i, naled across the 5 acre 28 \vith a 3'1.fixed to each end oi the shaft and L ing with the gear sectors 29 on thebeams. A hand lever 32 is fixed on the shaft 30 and stands vertical inoperotli sition adjacent to and convenient un il the operators seat 33.It is seen how the operator may shift the lever back and torth to rotatethe gear sector 31, which impresses rotation to the sector 29 andchanges the position of the plow 28. The operator is able to vary theangle of the plow with respect to the horizontal in order to counteractany tendency of the draft on the ton gue to pull the, plow out of theground. The lever 32 is employed for this purpose, that is to say, it isemployed to vary the cutting angle of the plow.

Each ground traction wheel has fixed thereto a drive sprocket 37. Acrank shaft 38 is journaled transversely of the frame and has fixed oncsch outer end a sprocket 39; and a chain 40 is confined on the pairs ofsprockets to drive the crank shaft 38 from the traction wheels 21. Asthe machine proceeds along the row, the crank shaft 38 is rotated whichreciprocates a pair of bars 41 carried on the cranks 4:2. The lower endsof the bars l1 carry an elevating plate 42 which is subjected to aswinging and reciprocating motion imparted by the cranks 42. The upperends of the bars ll have fixed thereto bars l Across member ll issupported in rigid position and has links is loosely connected thereto.The other ends of the links 45 are attached to the upper ends of thebars 43. The links 45 serve to hold the upper ends of the bars 43 inapproximately fixed position while the lower ends of the bars l1.undergo a backand-forth or a reciprocating motion.

plurality of holes are made in the bars l3 to permit vertical adjustmentof the links 45 in order to change the vertical adjustment of the bars43. The rotating crank shaft 38 subjects the elevating; plate 4-2 tobackand-torth motion which sweeps rearwardly the dirt and potatoes fromthe back of the plow.

The traction wheels 21 carry internal gears 4-7. A transverse driveshaft is journaled on the frame 18, and a drive pinion 49 is fixed toeach end of the shaft and meshes with the internal. gears 4-? of the twotraction wheels. A bevel gear 50 is loosely confined on the shaft 48 dhe;- a clutch face 51. sliding clutch is carried on the shaft 48 andfixed to rotate with the shaft. and when .enga d with the clutch 51there is established a driving relation between the shaft 48 and thebevel 50. A drivenshaft 53 is journaled in supports and has a bevel 54kfixed tot-ht front end engaging with the driving 50.

The rear end ol' the sha l or: is proiidcd crank disk on lixed theretoand havljust:iblc moans related will: the crank lisl. to chance tlcizulius oi' the crank A 'adius arm 56 is pivoted on the crank diskthrough the agency of :1 pin or bolt 5?. A slot fits is cut in the crankdisk concentric with the bolt :37, and a clamp screw 59 is confined inthe slot 53h, being passed through the radius arm and a connecting rod(50. A bushing ll..l be cmploycd to provide a; :idclpuitc bearingsurface and coupled relation between the connecting rod 60 and theradius arm 56. lv bind the clanzp screw 5f) the radius arm 56 andconnecting rod (30 are fixed positively in relation to the n'ank disk Byloosening the clamp screw 59. the radius ZH'IH 50 may be swung about thecenter and clamped in on}; POfelilOll within the slot 5%"). This featureenables the operator to vary the rad is ou crank throw imparted to theconnectingg;- rod (30 From the crank disk 53?. While the drawings showone practical em bodiment of means :lorchanging the radius of the crankthrow on the crank disk it is pointed out that other suitable dcsi ynssay be used to good efiect. and the use ol' which are contemplated underthe rights o l this invention.

.ri b acket 64- is secured to the rear end ol one side ol the Prairie 18and supports :1 lever (35 pivoted at (it; to the bracket. The link o? ispivotallv hung on the lower end ol the lever The link 67 is adapted toundergo a lateral inotion and is also capoblo of in leoendentbeck-ai'ul-lorth motion. or motion lm igitudi al with the direction ottravel of the machine down the row plowed.

A plurality of bars (35% are supported on the cross-bar (lf with therear ends llarcd outwnrdlv. and with the 'loiuvard ouds rcslins); onanother crossbar Til. Thr crosslmrs 70 may be attached to the bars orribs (lb to hold the structural lruuievm k l' gi'ctlwr. and the bar 70may be confined under the rear edge of the plow $29. The ends ol thecrossbar 09 project beyond the ribs and framework ot the vibratingcarrier. said carrier comprisiiur the parts G8 and (l9. link 71 isattached to a bracket 72 fixed to the a nine of the machine and supportsone side of the vilin'atiu r car ier (33: while the other end of the bar(19 is :zllechcd lo the lower end of the link (37 to support the otherside 01" the carr er. l u this way llu crH'rior is supported in :1pprorzumtcly horizon 1d position between the 7W0 links to rid bchind the plowS28.

A description will now be given ol' some of the detail parts ol" themachine which make for eliiciency and practical operation. In Figure 6there llu ratcrl a cross-sectional view taken on the line l3(l oi Figure.nd Firxurc 7 is r. detail view liken on the line "i'i' in tie liigure6. ratchet wheel tiooed, freely mounted. on the shaft adj a omit theinternal ratchet wheel 73. A. pawl. 74; is pivoted on the face of thesprocket 39 and confined in the ratchet wheel 73 with a spring to holdthe pawl in positive engagement with the ratchet teeth. lt is seen howthe potato digger when driven forward drives the crank shaft 38 throughthe agency of the pawl 7 land ratchet wheel 73; but, however, when themachine is backed up for any reason, the ratchet and pawl mechanismdisengage when the pawl moves forward operation of the elevating plate.

lln order to advance the state of the art to a point of n'iarkedperfection, and in order to disclose alternate means for elevating orthrowing the plowed earth and potatoes from the plow to the rear uponthe vibrating carrier, I show several different forms of teeth 76 whichmay be bolted to the lower ends of the bars ll when. it is morepractical to use elevating means of less capacity than that shown in thel igure 3. The teeth 76 act to stir the ground and help move it backfrom the plow, and also serve to break up the earth, which causes it todrop through the carrier bars 68 faster than it would otherwise do wherethe breaking teeth 76 are not employed. lit is practical to employ theelevating plate 42 for throwing; back the earth and potatoes where thepotato (lig er operating in comparatively soft soil where few clods andhard lumps prevail. The breaking teeth 76 may be used to betteradvantage than the plate 1-2" where the potato digger is working inhard, cloddy ground.

In Figure 11 there is shown one preferable means of connecting; theforward end of the bars 68 to the cross member 70. It is usually morepractical to connect the two outside bars 68 to the crossbar 70 byproviding loose connection, which consists in inserting the forwardhooked end 82 through holes made in the bar. This provides a partlyflexible connection between the bars 68 and it to permit adjustment andto avoid bindan of the vibrating carrier when it is in operation.

It shield 83 has an arm or bracket 84lwhich reaches up and bolts to theframe of the carriage. The shield 88 is held in parallel re lation oneach side of the vibrating carrier 68, which serves to prevent thepotatoes from being; thrown to one side of the machine due to thel'iiiglrspccd lateral-mringringr motion of the carrier. When the[lfillttiKH-ES are thrown to one side or the other. the shield -i3catches them, which cause .he potatoes to drop oil the rear end of thecarrier in line with the potato-digging nnuthine. in this manner therewill. he no potatoes thrown upon the adjacent rows, and, hence, nonewill be lost or (:lamagcd through the plowing operation on thesucceeding rows.

in the plowing operation, the pe "formance of the machine is such thatthe plow28 unearths the potatoes and considerable soil therewith. Theelevating plate 42 lifts upwardly and travels forwardly to drop down infront of the unearthed materials. The plate then move rearwardly underthe direct action of the crank shaft 38 to throw the unearthed materialsupon the vibrating carrier 68. The crank disk subjects the vibratingcarrier to lateral swinging motion, simulating a high-speed vibrating:action, which continually shakes the dirt from the unearthed potatoes.As the plow proceeds along the row the potatoes gradually drop off therear end of the carrier, which leaves the potatoes on top of the plowedsoil.

A paramount feature of my invention resides in the adjustable radius arm56 on the crank disk, which enables the operator to adjustab-ly vary themotion of crank throw generated in the crank disk 55. In. soft, wellinulched soil it is unnecessary to vibrate the carrier 68 to any greatextent since the soft soil feeds very fast through the carrier. However,in cloddy and hard ground it is necessary to change the position of thera dius arm 56 so as to impart a relatively long crank throw to the(.OIIDQClLlllfI rod in order to subject the carrier to oscillations ofconsiderable amplitude. This action on the part of the carrier violentlyrolls and shakes the large clods, breaking them up, thus leavingcomparatively smooth, level and wellbroken soil behind the plow.

The operator will regulate the depth of the plow in accordance with thegrowth conditions of the potatoes being dug. "Where the potatoes haverooted quite deeply, it is necessary to plow deeper; to this end themachine provided with the pivoted plow beam 26 and adj ustinp; lever 32.

lit is pointed out that the carrier (38 is capable of a hack-and-forthswinging; mo- .tion on the links 71 and G7 which perants the carrier tomove lack in order to ride over any obstructions. such as rocks orstun'ips, in. the line of travel of the machine.

This form of potato-digging machine will. harvest potatoes faster thancan ordinarily be done by hand, and, furthermore, it leaves them on. topof the ground. to be dry cured prior to sacking; the potatoes for themarket.

l-lavinp; thus described invention, it dean adjustable radius arm.arranged to change the amplitude of the vibration o l? the *arrier.

3; In a potato digging machine, a carriage, a plow to unearth thepotatoes, a \ihinting-carrier mounted on the carriage, a driven shaft, adisk on one end of the shaft and having a curvedslot, an arm pivoted tothe disk adjacent the slot thereof, a bolt carried bythefarm andadjustably secured in said slot, a rod connected with said arm, and

means connecting the rod with said carrier.

JAMES W. SCOTT.

